Most wet weather since before Thanksgiving headed our way, says Walter Kelley



SEATTLE  -- The good news: we've made it through the cold snap!

The bad news: it's going to be wet and windy for a while.

This will be the most moisture we’ve seen since before Thanksgiving, Q13 chief meteorologist Walter Kelley says.

“The metro area will have sloppy commutes Tuesday and Wednesday,” Kelley said. “Standing water on the roads.”

Q13 meteorologist Rebecca Stevenson says today we're expecting iincreasing clouds with high temperatures in the mid to upper 40s. Wind increases tonight on the coast with gusts to 40mph. Rain arrives on the beaches in the evening.

A rain event arrives to Seattle late; areas of heavy rain may impact the Tuesday morning commute. Several rounds of rain Tuesday through Wednesday are bringing the threat of river flooding off the Olympic and North Cascade mountains from King county to Whatcom County.

In the lowlands it is a rapid thaw with rain amounts of 1 to 4 inches Tuesday and Wednesday.

Freezing rain threatens ice accumulations in the Cascade Passes tonight and that ice threat continues eastward past Ellensburg Tuesday morning. The mountains expect up to 10 inches of rain that will cause rapid rises on creeks, streams, and rivers due to a snow level as high as 8000 feet.

Low temperatures will be in the low 40s and high temperatures will soar into the low to mid 50s.

Steady rain will break to rain at times late Wednesday which continues Thursday. High temperatures will approach seasonal normals in the mid 40s again but rain continues in a more showery nature through the weekend.